Toy pop gun having an air pump with a resiliently flexible movable chamber closure member



P 19, 1967 J. w. RYAN ETAL 3, 7

' TOY POP GUN HAVING AN AIR PUMP WITH A RESILIENTLY I FLEXIBLE MOVABLECHAMBER CLQSURE MEMBER Filed Feb. 15, 1965 C5 Sheets-Sheet l /7( 210 a/7(;'{ 1/6 1 i 2/4 I J 121 48 L i M:

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G AN AIR PUMP WITH A RESILIENTLY FLEXIBLE MOVABLE CHAMBER CLOSURE MEMBERSept. 19, 1967 TOY POP GUN HAVIN Filed Feb 15, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 515.44 :0. Fri/v United States Patent TOY POP GUN HAVING AN AIR PUMP WITHA RE- SILIENTLY FLEXIBLE MOVABLE CHAMBER CLOSURE MEMBER John W. Ryan,Bel Air, George William Sioles, Palos Verdes Estates, and James FranklinMunday, South Gate, Calif., assignors to Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne,Califi, a corporation of California Filed Feb. 15, 1965, Ser. No.432,730 6 Claims. (Cl. 124-1) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A toy gunhaving a chamber and pump to compress air in the chamber, the chamberhas an outlet opening and a piston-like member having a resilientperiphery sealing the opening to prevent escape of air pressure. Triggermeans hold the piston-like member in sealing position but when actuatedpermits the pressure in the chamber to force the member to pop outthrough the opening and produce a gun simulating sound. A lever isprovided for repositioning the member in the chamber and dashpot meansin the chamber are connected to the member for restraining its outwardmovement and for at least partially resetting the member in the chamber.

This invention relates to a toy gun and more particularly to a new anduseful toy gun of the pop gun type.

Background of the invention A number of types of pop guns are, ofcourse, known. Such guns produce a sound when they are fired and may beof any one of a wide variety of different constructions. Most of theseprior art pop guns are designed so that air under pressure may hesuddenly released.

The sound comes from some of these prior art pop guns by bursting apaper when the air is released. Other prior art pop guns are designed sothat the air causes a cork or the like to be fired.

While generally satisfactory, these prior art pop guns do have certaindisadvantages. One disadvantage with the type which bursts a paperresides in the fact that the rolls of paper must be replenishedperiodically. One disadvantage with the guns which shoot a cork residesin the fact that the cork often becomes lost.

A general disadvantage of many guns which create noise by burstingmaterials or otherwise obtaining a nearly instantaneous release of airis that the abrupt release of air tends to create'both an undesirablyhigh pitch of noise and a steep and sharp rise in air pressure whichincreases the possibility, in childrens play, of damage to a childs ear.

Summary of the invention In view of the foregoing factors and conditionscharacteristic of toy pop guns, it is a primary object of the presentinvention to provide a new and useful toy gun not subject to thedisadvantages enumerated above and having accumulator means especiallydesigned for firing the gun efiiciently, safely and economically.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toy pop gun ofthe type described which shoots a vortex' action of the diaphragm afterit passes through the openmg.

According to the present invention, a toy, recoilless rifle is providedwith an accumulator having an open end in which a large diaphragm ismounted on a rod which is connected to a piston in a dash pot. The rodis engageable by the guns trigger mechanism.

An air pump is connected to the accumulator for supplying air underpressure thereto which builds up to a predetermined amount governed by asafety valve provided on the accumulator. When the trigger is squeezedto release the rod, the air in the accumulator not only forces thediaphragm out the open end thereof with a loud bang, but also shoots avortex of compressed air which may be directed at a suitable target.Although the back pressure on the piston in the dash pot usually drawsthe diaphragm back into the accumulator to recock the gun, a manualrecocking lever is also provided. This lever must be actuated to movethe diaphgram back into the accumulator before the air pump can beactuated. Thus, a child-user of the gun is assured that it is alwayscocked before the pump is used to pressurize the accumulator.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel areset forth with particularity in the append ed claims. The presentinvention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, togetherwith further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood byreference to the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to likeelements in the several views.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a toy gun of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view showing adiaphragm and associated parts of the gun in solid line and broken linepositions illustrating the beforefiring and after-firing conditions,respectively;

, FIGURE 4 is an enlarged, exploded perspective view of the gun ofFIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 55 ofFIGURE 2.

Description of a preferred embodiment shown herein for purposes ofillustration, but not of limitation as, having an injection-molded,high-impact styrene structure wherein each housing half is moldedseparately.

The housing 12 includes a mechanism chamber 18 which is joined by afrusto-conical transition section 20 to a cylindrical barrel 22. Thehousing 12 also includes a forward grip 24, a rear grip 26, a triggerguard 28 and a shoulder rest 30. A recoilless firing mechanism 32 ismounted in the mechanism chamber 18 and is retained in position thereinby a pair of spaced, annular ribs 34 and a forward annular rib 35.

The firing mechanism 32 includes a cylindrical accumulator 36 comprisinga rear housing half 37 having an encompassing side wall 38, a closed endwall 40, and an open end 42. The accumulator 36 also comprises a fronthousing half 43 having an encompassing side wall 44, and open ends 46and 48, respectively. p

The rear housing half 37 is joined to the front housing half 43 byengaging an annular tongue 50 provided at the open end 46 with anannular groove 52 provided on the open end 42.

A dash pot or damper 54 which comprises a cylinder 56, a piston 58, apiston rod 60 and a seal spring 61, is mounted in the accumulator 36 bya plurality of brackets 62 having arcuate flanges 64 which engagerecesses 66 provided in the encompassing side wall 44 of the accumulatorhalf 43. The piston 58 includes a piston back 68, a flexible piston cup70 and a piston plate 72 which are clamped together by a head 74 formedon the end of the piston rod 60. The cylinder 56 includes anencompassing side wall 76 and open ends 78 and 80. An annular partition82 is mounted in the cylinder 56 intermediate the ends 78 and 80 and isprovided with a bore 84 in which the piston rod 60 is slideably mountedwith sufficient clearance to provide an air-bleed passageway 86 betweenthe piston rod 60 and the partition 82. A diaphragm assembly 88 isaflixed to the piston rod 60 by a hub 90 which clamps a diaphragm backor plate 92 and a flexible diaphragm member 94 together. The diaphragm94 abuts an annular shoulder 96 provided in the open end 48 of theaccumulator 36 and is adapted to be forced therethrough with a loud bangwhen the gun is fired in a manner to be hereinafter described. The sealspring 61 has one end 61a bearing against partition 82 and another end61b bearing against the hub 90 to normally seat the diaphragm againstthe shoulder 96. Although other dimensions will manifest themselves, ithas been found satisfactory for good results to employ an outsidediameter for the diaphragm back-up plate 92 which is smaller than theinside diameter of the open end 48 by an amount equal to /2 thethickness of the diaphragm 94. Such dimensioning causes the diaphragm 94to flex as shown in broken lines in FIGURE 3 as it passes through theopen end 48 to the exterior of the accumulator 36. A chamfer 98 isprovided on the inner surface of the open end 48 to facilitatereinsertion of the diaphragm 94 into the accumulator 36. The end 100 ofthe rod 60 which is remote from the head 74 is slideably mounted in afixed bearing 102 provided in the housing 12.

The diaphragm assembly 88, which is actually a movably mounted closuremember is retained in position within the accumulator 36 when it ispressurized, in a manner to be hereinafter described, by the abutment ofthe end 100 of rod 60 against a firing lever 104 which is pivotallymounted in the housing 12 by a pin 106. The firing lever 104 includes afirst end 108 having a channel 110 engageable with the end 100 of therod 60 and a second end 112 having a flat face 114 engageable with asimilar face 116 provided on the end 118 of a trigger 120. The trigger120 is pivotally mounted by a pin 122 in the housing 12 and is biased tothe position shown in FIGURE 2 by a torsion spring 124 having one arm126 engaging a fixed pin 128 provided in housing 12 and a second arm 130engaging a pin 132 provided on the trigger 120. When the trigger 120 ismoved in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 2, the faces114 and 116 become disengaged permitting the firing lever 104 to swingin a counterclockwise direction from the force imparted thereto by theurging of the diaphragm assembly 88 to the left under the influence ofthe pressure in the accumulator 36. The lever 104 is returned to aposition for engagement with the trigger 120 by a spring 134 having onearm 136 engaging a fixed pin 138 provided in housing 12 and a second arm140 engaging a pin 142 which is aflixed to the lever 104.

Movement of the diaphragm assembly 88 through the open end 48 releasesthe accumulated pressure in the accumulator 36 into the barrel 22 fromwhence it flows out the open end 146 thereof with considerable force inthe form of a vortex. The diaphragm assembly 88 is arrested by thedamper 54 due to the resistance created by bleeding air through thebleed passageway 86. The air pressure which builds up between partition82 and piston 58 is ordinarily .suflicient to force the diaphragm 94back into the accumulator 36 through the open end 48, thereby recockingthe gun 10. Recocking means, to be hereinafter described, is alsoprovided to assure that the gun 10 is recocked should the back-pressureon piston 58 be insuflicient to automatically recock the gun 10.

The accumulator 36 is pressurized by a pump 150 which may be made of anysuitable material, such as styrene and which comprises a pump cylinder152 having open ends 154 and 156, a piston 158 and a piston rod 160. Theopen end 156 is secured to the end wall 40 of the accumulator 36 by anannular flange 162 which encompasses the cylinder 152 and which may bebonded thereto by solvent welding or the like. For manufacturingconvenience, the piston 158 may be identical in size to the piston 58and comprises a piston back 68a, a piston cup 70a and a piston plate72a. The parts 68a, 70a and 72a are clamped together by a head 164provided on the end 166 of the piston rod 160. The other end 168 of rodincludes a flat tang 170 which is provided with an aperture 172 in whicha rivet 174 is mounted and held captive between the ends 176 of thehalves 177 of a pump handle 178. The pump handle 178 is pivotallymounted in the housing 12 by a pin or rivet 180 which passes through anaperture 181 provided in the handle 178 between the end 176 and itsother end 182. The end 182 of the handle 178 is provided with ahand-grip portion 184 and a notched portion 186 which forms a shoulder188 engageable by an end 190 of a recock lever 192, which locks thehandle 178 against rotation about the pin 180. The handle 178, in itslocked position, serves as a carrying handle for the gun 10.

When the recock lever 192 is released from engagement with the shoulder188, the lever 178 may be swung upwardly and then downwardly toreciprocate the piston 158, whereby air under pressure is forced intothe accumulator 36 through an aperture 194 and a check valve 196provided in the end wall 40. The check valve 196 is secured to the endwall 40 by engaging a boss 198 provided thereon and is retained inposition over the aperture 194 by a snap ring or eyelet 200. The checkvalve 196 is of a flexible nature so that it will flex inwardly towardthe inside of the accumulator 36 to permit air under pressure to flowtherein but will prevent back flow through the aperture 194 by beingpressed tightly against the wall 40 by the pressure in the accumulator36. The amount of pressure which can be built up in the accumulator 36is controlled by a relief valve 202 comprising a styrene valve cover204, a valve piston 206 and a valve spring 208. The spring 208 biasesthe piston 206 into engagement with the wall 40 to seal an aperture 210provided therein. The spring 208 is designed to exert a predeterminedforce on the valve piston 206 which is overcome when the pressure in theaccumulator 36 exceeds a predetermined amount thereby forcing the piston206 to the right, as viewed in FIGURE 2, unseating the piston 206 andpermitting air under pressure to flow through the aperture 210 and leavethe valve 202 through an aperture 212 provided in the housing 204.

The recock lever 192 assures that the diaphragm assembly 88 is alwaysmoved back into the accumulator 36 after the gun 10 is fired and ispivotally mounted in the housing 12 by a pin 214. The recock lever 192is biased against the shoulder 188 by a spring 216 having an arm 218engaging one of a pair of pins or knobs 220 mounted on the lever 192 andan arm 222 which engages a fixed pin 224 provided in the housing 12. Theend 226 of the lever 192 includes an offset portion 227 which engagesthe diaphragm assembly 88 to move it back into the accumulator 36 whenrecock lever 192 is swung in a counterclockwise direction to releasepump handle 178 by grasping the knobs 220.

A simulated gun sight 230 comprises injection-molded high-impact styrenehousing halves 232 and 234 and is connected to the housing 12 by a pin236 which clamps the leg 238 of each half 232 and 234 to a prism-likemember 240 mounted on the housing half 16 of gun 10.

The appearance of the gun 10 is enhanced by providing it with a numberof simulated features such as a cheek pad 242, a cocking-bolt knob 244and a hinged end plate 246. The plate 246 gives the gun the illusion ofbeing a baz0oka-type weapon, a rocket launcher or the like. A simulatedswingable member 248 is also provided so that a child-user of the gun 10may pretend that he is field stripping the gun by pretending to releasethe simulated member 248 with a simulated release button 250.

In use, the recock lever 192 may be actuated to release pump handle 178so that the pump 150 may be actuated to build up the predeterminedpressure in the accumulator 36 which will be found to be sufiicient whenthe relief valve 202 opens. This accumulated pressure will force thediaphragm 94 through the open end 48 with a loud bang when the trigger120 is squeezed to release the firing lever 104. Air in the accumulator36 rushes out the open end 48 into the rifle barrel 22 and out throughthe end 146 thereof in the form of a vortex which will travel severalyards and which may be employed to hit a target with a fair amount ofaccuracy. This release, which is more nearly valve-like than thatobtained, for example, by bursting certain materials, produces anequally satisfactory loudness of noise with a relatively slower pulse ofair pressure, thereby obtaining a generally lower pitch which morenearly simulates a weapon noise for children and a lower peak pressureless likely to cause ear damage. The damper 54 arrests the diaphragm 94by compressing air between partition 82 and piston 58 so that a backpressure is built up therebetween. This back pressure urges thediaphragm 94 back through the open end 48 into the accumulator 36. Ifthis back pressure fails to reposition the diaphragm 94 within theaccumulator 36, the recock lever 192 will force the diaphragm 94 backinto the accumulator 36 when the lever 192 is swung in acounterclockwise direction to release the pump lever 178 so that it mayagain be I manipulated to actuate the pump 150.

While the particular toy gun herein shown and described in detail isfully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantageshereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merelyillustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention andthat no limitations are intended to the details of construction ordesign herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy gun comprising: means defining a chamber; pump means forcompressing air in said chamber to a superatmospheric pressure; anoutlet opening from said chamber; a closure member movably mounted insaid chamber and having a resiliently flexible peripheral portion,larger than said opening, se-alingly engaging said chamber around saidopening; releasable trigger means holding said member against outwardmovement through said opening whereby release of said trigger meanspermits air pressure in said chamber to force said member to popoutwardly through said opening and thereby suddenly release saidpressure to produce sound simulating a gun.

2. A toy gun as defined in claim 1 including a tubular open-endedbarrel, said outlet opening communicating with one end of said barrelwhereby air issuing from said outlet opening, upon release of saidmember, issues from the other end of said barrel as a jet.

3. A toy gun as defined in claim 1 including dashpot means in saidchamber and connected to said member for arresting excessive outwardmovement thereof when said trigger means is released.

4. A toy gun as defined in claim 3 wherein said dashpot means comprisesa cylinder in said chamber; a piston in said cylinder connected to saidmember for movement therewith and serving to at least partially compressair in said cylinder in response to outward movement of said member andthereby urge said member to return inwardly of said outlet opening afterrelease of pressure from said chamber.

5. A toy gun as defined in claim 4 wherein said piston is connected tosaid member by a rod extending therebetween, said rod extending throughsaid member and said outlet opening and having an outer end portionengaging said releasable trigger means.

6. A toy gun as defined in claim 1 including a manually operable levermeans for forcibly moving said member inwardly through said outletopening to the interior of said chamber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 843,573 2/1907 Blomen et a1.124-13 1,818,810 2/1931 Miller 12413 2,628,450 2/1953 Shelton 1241 X2,996,823 8/ 1961 Weimer 46--175 X 3,003,281 10/1961 Butler et al.46-178 F. BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner. ANTON O. OECHSLE, Examiner.

W. R. BROWNE, Assistant Examiner.

1. A TOY GUN COMPRISING: MEANS DEFINING A CHAMBER; PUMP MEANS FORCOMPRESSING AIR IN SAID CHAMBER TO A SUPERATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE; ANOUTLET OPENING FROM SAID CHAMBER; A CLOSURE MEMBER MOVABLY MOUNTED INSAID CHAMBER AND HAVING A RESILIENTLY FLEXIBLE PERIPHERAL PORTION,LARGER THAN SAID OPENING, SEALINGLY ENGAGING SAID CHAMBER AROUND SAIDOPENING; RELEASABLE TRIGGER MEANS HOLDING SAID MEMBER AGAINST OUTWARDMOVEMENT THROUGH SAID OPENING WHEREBY RELEASE OF SAID TRIGGER MEANSPERMITS AIR PRESSURE IN SAID CHAMBER TO FORCE SAID MEMBER TO POP